India gay couple succumbs to family pressure, separates one day after wedding

A same-sex couple who married at a public ceremony in India on Thursday amidst fanfare, have separated, reportedly due to pressure from their families.

Dressed in a sleeveless white wedding gown, Nikhil Sharma married his companion of six years, Sandip Soibam, in Manipur’s first public gay wedding since the Delhi High Court decriminalized homosexuality last year.

According to The Hindu, police summoned the couple on Friday morning on the basis of complaints lodged by their family members, none of whom attended Thursday’s ceremony.

Reports said senior police officers and parents of the couple prevailed upon them to get separated, and they had agreed to live separately and remain friends. Officials said the marriage was not legally tenable since all the couple did was exchange rings and not marriage vows.

The marriage should have been solemnized according to the Hindu Marriage Act or any acceptable convention, it was pointed out.

However, the couple’s close friends maintain that the actions of the police and the parents are illegal since Nikhil and Sandip are above 18 years of age.